How to Market to Millennials on Twitter

There’s no way they still engage with this channel, so why bother investing in it?

Well, I’m going to tell you why…

Are millennials even still on Twitter?

We had a work experience intern join us at Latitude for a week.

When I did my induction of social media marketing, she said:

“I heard of Twitter. But never really used it. “(Beth, 18)

Another work experience intern said:

“Most of my friends use it just like we used to use Facebook just telling followers what we’re doing, sharing funny things and I probably use it twice a day” (Becky Scott, 18)

And Louise, our Account Executive (22) said:

“Twitter to me is an easy and convenient way to keep up to date with my favourite things, whether that be celebrities, the news, sports, TV shows etc. It’s really easy to jump on board with a trend or a big event such as the Olympics and see what others opinions are of the same things just by searching the word or using a hashtag.”

40% of millennials have an account on Twitter with 27% saying they use the channel as an information source.

There you go.

Can Millennials Be Marketed to on Twitter?

Marketers have different opinions on Twitter for Millennials:

“If I am going to reach them with something relevant, I am probably looking at Instagram and Snapchat.” (Shenan Reed, president of digital at MEC North America)

“If something is happening in the world, chances are it is being discussed on Twitter, and that hasn’t changed,” says Debbie Williamson, an analyst at eMarketer.

I am a millennial and I go on Twitter daily to share articles I read on content marketing and social media.

That’s the channel I get all my info from and the first channel I go to when there’s a live show on TV and I want to see what people comment on it.

It’s the best forum for live interaction and comments.

But that’s me. And I’m old.

For a millennial that is.

We know millennials use Twitter. We know they can be marketed to. How do we do it?

What do Millennials use Twitter for?

Before we decide how to market to millennials, we need to find out what they’re using Twitter for.

In the UK, 32% of brand mentions on Twitter concern food and drink. So if you’re a restaurant or a pub you’re sound.

Twitter is the way to go.

If not, well…better rethink your social strategy.

To sum it all up, Twitter is great as an upper funnel tool and even better at creating awareness around a topic or brand. People like to talk about brands (and complain about them) and it’s the number one channel for getting your news.

And this is what Twitter was meant to be: a channel that captures real-time conversations around news and events like the Olympics and the Xfactor. That’s what it excels at.

Ask yourself this:

How active are you on your Twitter feed?

Do you just share your latest blog posts and expect 100% engagement?

Do you reply to people who tag you in a tweet or just ignore it?

You might not for many different reasons: lack of resource or time, or knowing what to reply with.